Tuesday, November 06, 2007

New Music Tuesday ...

Sometimes, I forget.

I hear of a band or an album and I think, "Oooh! I need to buy that!" and then I don't. Because I am old and addle-brained.

But sometimes, I find myself wandering around Best Buy (as I was last night), with the Alison Krauss/Robert Plant disc in hand, ready to head to the cashier to buy it, even though I've sampled it on iTunes and I really don't like what I've heard, but it's Robert Plant and I love Robert Plant, so I figure I should buy it anyway.

And then my eyes fall on a disc that I remember wanting to buy months ago, and I put Robert and Alison back on the rack and I buy The Cost by The Frames instead.

I am a happy girl. Glen Hansard, the main Frame, opened for Damien Rice last year at The Vic. Jay's friend Mike knows Glen so they were going to be at the show (ah, the guest list) and Jay and I were talking about it the day or so before.

I'd never heard of The Frames, somehow. But for those who don't know (there might be one or two of you), the musical landscape in Ireland looks like this: U2 then The Frames.

Yeah, they're a big deal in their native land. And why they're not a bigger deal here, I don't understand. The Cost is outstanding. Even the album cover is beautiful.

The editorial review on iTunes begins, "If The Frames don't crack it with The Cost something is terribly wrong." The album dropped in February. I haven't been hearing about it all year, have you?

No, I didn't think so. And it's a shame.

I won't compare this band to anyone else to give you sense of their sound. Glen opened for Damien, but I've seen Damien quoted as saying that Glen is the musician Damien aspires to be. So I suppose they're in similar veins, but The Frames deserve to be listened to on their own merits, not because they sound like someone else.

3 Comments:

You should have gotten Raising Sand, too! Sampling this disc does not do it justice. Robert sings some lovely and intricate harmonies on this one as well as delving into a playful 60s vibe (Fortune Teller), a moody Twin Peaksish moment (Polly Come Home), and even borderline hard rock (Nothin'). There's power in restraint and Raising Sand certainly shows that. Do check it out!